Top 3 destinations for donated blood in Dubai

Observed annually on June 14, it is World Blood Donor Day today, a day to emphasise the continuing demand for blood donations and to show existing donors appreciation for the lives they have saved.

Laila Al Shaer, Head of the Blood Donation Centre knows how blood donations have contributed to the health of thousands of people in the UAE.

The largest share of blood is transferred to the Thalassemia Centre, the second largest share to the Trauma Centre in Rashid Hospital and the third largest to the Oncology Department of Dubai Hospital, she reveals.

The Thalassemia Centre receives 33 per cent of the stock of the Blood Bank in Dubai.
“We provided the centre with 14,000-15,000 units last year,” added Laila.

Thalassaemia is an inherited blood disorder in which the body makes an abnormal form of haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen.

This results in excessive destruction of red blood cells leading to anemia.

Patients have to undergo regular blood transfusions to get rid of the [extra] iron in their bodies.
With a 17 per cent share the Trauma Center of Rashid Hospital follows as the second largest consumer of blood; 19 thousand units were provided to this center in 2013.

"A person who has been in a traffic accident and is suffering from internal bleeding may require 30 to 50 units of blood,” Laila explains.
“Dubai is growing and with the expansion of the Trauma Centre and unfortunately the high road accident cases, the need for blood transfusion related care will only increase.”

While a regular blood donation takes about 15 minutes to be completed, different is the case with the so-called platelet collection, which is required for blood transfusions to cancer patients, points out Laila.

Platelets are blood cells critical to blood clotting, which is the process that stops bleeding.
When cancer and/or cancer treatment causes a person’s platelet level to fall too low, a transfusion may be given to reduce the risk of serious or life-threatening bleeding.

“Platelet collection takes 45 minutes to an hour,” said Laila. As the number of cancer patients is increasing, so is the demand for platelet donations and donations of this kind are encouraged.

Childbirth complications

Globally, severe bleeding during delivery and after childbirth is a major cause of mortality, morbidity and long-term disability.
To emphasise this problem the theme of this year’s World Blood Donor Day is ‘Safe blood for saving mothers’, pointing out the need of timely access to safe blood to prevent maternal deaths.

Of the blood collected by the center last year 5 to 8 per cent was used for pregnancy and child-birth related complications in Latifa Hospital, the emirate’s largest maternity and pediatric hospital, Laila explained.

In the UAE, maternal mortality ratio is 12.0 per 100,000 live births, according to the WHO.
“Excessive blood loss during childbirth is one of the most dreaded complications,” comments Elsa de Menezes, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynecologist from Mediclinic City Hospital (MCH).

“Based on my practice in the UAE over the past six years, women in the emirates experience far more pregnancy-related complications compared to the West.

“A common complication involving blood loss at child birth is postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), where the mother loses 500 mL of blood or more. The chance of developing such complication increases with conditions such as obesity, diabetes, multiple pregnancies, and grand multiparity (women giving birth more than five times),” Elsa explained.

“In the UAE, we do not have a high percentage of women dying due to child-birth complications. These cases are problematic in developing countries, but in the UAE healthcare is more developed,” Laila explained.

However, all bleeding related child-birth complications are always critical,” she added.

Therefore, when we have such a case there is an immediate need to provide blood products to help save the mother’s life and prevent her from disabilities.”

Sustain the blood bank

Currently, the supply of Dubai is enough to sustain the existing demand.

However, this does not mean that no more donations are needed. On the contrary, the bank needs to be increased, said Laila.
The Blood Donation Centre has 80,000 regular donors, receives up to 50 donors a day, and received 43,000 units in 2013. “We are thankful to all of our donors because they have directly contributed to saving someone’s life.”

However, the population of Dubai is growing and so is the demand for blood. Blood donation is not a stagnant principle; it must be sustained all the time, she emphasised.

“What we have experienced over the years is that the supply drops down during summer and during Ramadan,” she continued.
“Our regular donors go on vacation or do not show during these months, while the demand continues to exist. What we have done over the last two years is increasing the intake during the months preceding this period, so we do require more donations around this time.”

The Blood Donation Centre supplies blood and blood products to all private and governmental hospitals in the Emirate of Dubai, which includes over 30 private and government hospitals.

The collection amounts to 50 per cent of the total blood collected in the UAE. 

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.